Private Parts
by MeekoChambers
Summary: Piper Farron found herself in a special unit hospital for a year and a half after her brother was mysteriously killed in Mystic Falls. A year and a half later, she is allowed to go home and soon finds that a lot has changed in this town she grew up in and loved so much. Just what is happening in Mystic Falls? Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Private Parts

CHAPTER ONE

A huge sigh escaped a young girl's lips on this spring day just outside of Mystic Falls. She was standing outside of what was her home for the past year and a half. This girl, dressed in an oversized well worn in knitted cardigan with jeans and DM's was Piper Farron. The building she was standing outside of? A hospital for the mentally ill, though this isn't what you initially are thinking. No, she was in the ward for the depressed youth who needed help to cope with their manic depression.

Her parents paid to have her sectioned after her brother whom she was extremely close to, died a mysterious death. No member of authority could give the Farron's a straight answer as to what killed Kaden. Piper and Kaden were extremely close before his untimely death, he was the type of brother who was proud to be seen out in public with his sister. Some people found that strange, but they didn't care. They cared for each other, and each were each other's best friend. It was true, when Kaden died Piper did fall into a pit of despair and manic depression. She withdrew from her usual popular life and stayed in Kaden's room the entire time- moving all of her belongings into his room and making it her own whilst not touching anything that was left behind of his.

Her parents became more and more concerned about her change in personality, and after failing to get through to her and falsely thinking she was trying to take her own life (she was just washing the conditioner out of her hair in the bath tub) by drowning, they decided it was best to section her.

So a year and a half later, here she is standing outside waiting for a taxi to pick her up and take her back to Mystic Falls. She felt glad to see the sunshine hit her face and the crisp spring air make her wrap her thin and moth eaten scarf round her neck. Everything felt refreshing, and she was glad to be out. Though she doesn't hold a grudge against her parents for putting her inside. She did at first, and wished she could suddenly see her friends but after some time of councilling, medication intake and reading every book in the hospital's library, she realised they were only looking out for her. Snapping out of her thoughts, she saw her taxi pull up to the curb and with a shy smile, she confirmed her name to the driver before getting in and letting the taxi take her back to where it all began….. Mystic Falls.

She looked out of the window as the world rushed by her, and she began debating in her mind, if she was truly ready to be out and back in town yet. She had spent an entire year and a half not seeing anyone. She refused visits from her friends Matt Donovan, Bonnie Bennett and Tyler Lockwood for the first four tries they attempted to visit her. She only allowed visits from her mother because she brought clothes and new journals for her to write in. Once her friends stopped attempting to visit her, she figured they had decided to just give up on her completely. Little did she know, things had got a little crazy in Mystic Falls during her time away. As the taxi pulled up to the curb by the sidewalk in front of The Mystic Grill, she noticed out of the window Matt Donovan cleaning tables sporting the Grill's work shirt.

She just found herself staring at him for a few moments, not really hearing the driver calling out to her for his fee for the drive. When she did hear him, she apologised sheepishly and paid him with the money the hospital gave her for the taxi. She had told them she' would pay them back for the ride once she was home and asked her mother for the money. Opening the car door, she swung each leg out of the doorway, and stood up out of the car, grabbing her duffel bag and slinging it over her shoulder, as she closed the door with her spare door. She looked around, suddenly being overwhelmed with thoughts of anxiousness and pure worry. Would anyone recognise her? Or even want to remember her or know her again? How would her own parents react to her being home again after they didn't bother to pick her up and bring her home themselves.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls," She heard from behind her, and as she turned round she realised it was indeed Matt Donovan greeting her, as if she was a stranger or a newbie to the town. "Thanks… but it's more of a 'welcome back' in my case" Piper replied, smiling shyly and awkwardly. She couldn't blame Matt for not realising who she was, she wasn't wearing the kind of clothing she used to be seen in, her hair was a darker shade of blonde than before, due to not being able to highlight it with dye in the hospital. Her hair was also braided in two lose braids like pigtails. She had no make up on, and looked like a complete stranger. She watched as the turn tables turned in Matt's mind as she spoke, and his realisation became sudden and obvious on his face.

"No way! Piper!? Well… long time no see stranger" Matt spoke to her in a cheerful voice, a smile becoming evident on his lips. "Yeah, I know. Sorry about that… but hey, I'm back." Piper replied to her old friend, deciding now wasn't the best time to start apologising for turning him away when he and the others came to visit her and be the good friends they were to her. "Come in for a drink? The others are inside," Matt asked her, offering her inside and willing to make the drink on the house for her. He wanted her to see the others, and figured it would be good for Bonnie Bennett and Tyler Lockwood to see her again as well. This however, scared Piper and made her withdraw again. This was one thing she needed to learn to not do on her own. Her councillor told her so, deciding that if she didn't start learning these life lessons out in the real world amongst her old friends, she never will become the girl she wants to be.

"I… dunno Matt, I'm not exactly dressed right to see the old gang and I have to get back home, see the folks." Piper spoke up, her awkwardness of being social and anxieties showing. She didn't want to seem rude or anti social, but she wasn't so sure she was ready to see Bonnie and Tyler. It was true what she said, she did need to tell her parents she was out of hospital and home. She also felt it was necessary to find out why they didn't bother picking her up and bringing her home themselves. She couldn't understand what parents wouldn't be there for their child when coming out of hospital. "Oh ok, well, come back later? I know the others would like to see you Piper. It's good to see you looking well." Matt replied to her knowing after what she has been through it was best not to push her. Pushing anyone to do something they didn't want to at the moment wasn't the way to go.

Things were intense in Mystic Falls, vampires had come back to the town and caused a lot of mayhem. His sister Vicky had been turned into a vampire by Damon Salvatore and then killed because she went rogue and rabid practically. Elena Gilbert was dating one of the Salvatore brothers called Stefan, Bonnie found out she was a witch, and Elena was a doppleganger of a very old vampire who turned Stefan and Damon. On top of that, things were getting weird with Tyler after his father died and his cousin miraculously showed up in town then disappeared, and Caroline had found this new air of confidence and attitude which she didn't have before. _"Yup… things have definitely become intense and weird around here…"_ Matt thought to himself. He walked back into The Grill to continue his work, as Piper continued her walk away fro the building and she made her way towards her home, a place she felt like she hadn't seen in many more years than the year and a half.

As she draw closer to where her house resides, just on the other side of the high street she wondered if she wanted to be back in the house, but she knew she had to do this. If she didn't go back home, she'd never move on with her life. "You can do this," She said to herself, taking a deep breath in and then out again. She walked up the road and approached the picket fenced lot where her house stood firm and tall. Walking up the path to the front door, she glanced at the front lawn remembering the times Kaden would have water fights with her in the summer. She felt glad it was a happy memory that flashed through her mind, when once again her thoughts were broken from her mother's startling exclamation. "Piper! You're home!" which caused Piper to just give her a forced smile a shoulder shrug, extending her arms in a manner that shouted 'well spotted Sherlock'.

"The hospital left a message on the answering machine saying you were leaving today, but we were out shopping, when I called them back they said you had taken a taxi here. Oh I'm just glad you're home, come on let's get you inside." Her mother explained to her, as she wrapped her arms around Piper's shoulders and ushered her inside the house.

It was probably down to the anxiety that Piper was working through, but she could have sworn her mother's attitude and eagerness to getting her inside the house was a sign that she didn't want their neighbours to see her back in town. Once inside, she marvelled the walls of the house as if she was visiting the place for the first time, things seemed so different now, yet everything looked the same. Piper wondered what it was, that was made her think this thought, but decided it was best to do what she did best: shrug it off. She would just write it down in her journal in the evening before she went to sleep.

It wasn't long before her father appeared from the living room, from his usual chair Piper could only imagine. She gave her father a sheepish smile, which she felt she was giving to just about everyone she saw today. Her father said no words, just walked up to her and grabbed her pulling her into his arms, hugging her tightly. Like most fathers, he wasn't very good with words and found his actions spoke louder than any words he could muster to say. Being the loving daughter she always used to be, she hugged him back, feeling overwhelmed by the recognisable smell of his cologne. Tears fell from her eyes by this point, as everything familiar to her just became too much to take in. From the way her father gripped her tighter, she could only come to the conclusion that he too was trying to not to cry.

"Come… you must be hungry and in need of a drink," Her mother Sandra said, breaking apart her husband and daughter. With a swipe of her sleeve, Piper wiped away the tears from her cheeks to stop them from falling off the edge of her chin. "Actually… I wanna see my room. I saw Matt at The Grill and he wants me to see the gang there. So I might just change and head out…" Piper spoke to Sandra back in reply, her voice quiet rather than the confident and loud volume she used to speak at. Seeing her mother nod, and look surprised at how Piper wished to leave the house so soon after leaving, she sighed. She gave her parents thoughts and feelings a real think over in that moment, which caused her re think her plans. "A drink here first can't hurt though." She then decided to say, which brought a smile to both her mother and father and she followed them into the kitchen. The kitchen was like every other kitchen in the houses of Mystic Falls, cupboards and sink lining the walls of the kitchen, whilst stood a centre work surface to stand in to look like a bar area, and overlooked the open walkthrough to the living room.

Stools stood in place around the centre work surface, and Piper took placement on her usual left hand side stool. Her elbows sat on the marble surface, as she leaned her chin into the palms of her hands. Her mother fixed her a cold refreshing drink and although, Piper didn't ask for it, she did make her daughter a sandwich to eat. It was obvious by this movement that she wanted Piper to be in the house for as long as possible, and Piper couldn't help but wonder if her mother wanted her to be out in public at all. "Mom… I can get something at The Grill, there is no need to make me food," Piper tried to change her mother's mind, but nothing really worked, so with a hefty sigh and giving into her mother's wants, she ate the sandwich made for her and drank the drink she was given.

A few minutes later, she was in her old room and looking through her wardrobe seeing the kinds of clothes she used to wear. Pencil dresses and skirts, fitted tops of various designs, along with many super skinny jeans in her other drawers and many other flimsy bordering on see through lose fitting over tops and strappy vests. In the bottom of her wardrobe were various boots and shoes- mostly all of the heeled variety whether they be wedge style or stiletto. She sighed, realising how much she had changed in just a year and a half.

"Hospital sure changes a person…" She muttered to herself, closing her wardrobe, staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror on the door of the wardrobe. She stared with another hefty sigh escaping her lips, and she wondered if she should even wear anything that she used to or stick to what she was wearing. If Caroline sure her now, she would surely have something to say about her outcast thespian look. She decided she would go for a in between look instead, so she dug out a pair of her non torn up jeans and removed her hand knitted cardigan, placing it neatly on the bed. Removing her DM boots off her feet, she then went on to remove her torn up jeans and replace them with the more suitable ones. She then replaced her DM boots back on her feet and pulled out a clean ribbed plain black tee from a drawer. Once satisfied with her new clean look, she decided it was now or never to see the old gang. If she was to see her friends Tyler and Bonnie and in turn everyone else, she had to just go for it now before she retreats back into herself again.

She walked over to her bedside table, which was just a plain wooden drawer like every other young woman's bedside tables were. Pulling at the drawer, she took out her wallet, glad to see it was still in it's usual place. She was even more glad there was still some cash in it- though it wasn't much. Counting it came to a grand total of $30. Deciding to not worry about it, she placed it in a bag and slung it over her shoulder before deciding to leave the house. Running down the stairs, she took out her braids in her hair and combed her hair through with her fingers, before pulling it back and tying it up into a ponytail. Due to the previous hairstyle, it turned this into a highly volumised ponytail and frizzy. "Where are you going Piper?" Sandra called out, walking out from the kitchen just as Piper reached the floor from the bottom step. "I promised Matt I'd say hi to everyone in The Grill… I have to Mom, otherwise I'll never learn to move forward. My therapist insists on it." She told Sandra, hoping that the words "my therapist" and "insists" would make her mother drop the subject and just let her go. Thankfully, the key words in her response worked, and she watched as it was now her mother's turn to do the sighing. "I'll be fine Mom, I promise." Piper said one last time, giving her mother a firm hug and kiss on the cheek before exiting the house and heading back into town.

As refreshing and welcoming the outside world felt to her, when outside the gates of the hospital, it was now becoming scary and overwhelming. '_I made a promise to Matt'_ she thought to herself, as she put her head down and reached the square and The Grill. She walked inside, and looked around and things so much more tense and quiet than she remembered. She wondered why that was, but then part of her didn't want to know. She couldn't see Matt Donovan initially and could guess he was out the back working, so she scoured the building and found a table near the back of the place and sat there. She looked down at her hands, as they clasped together, and her fingers twiddled together in an anxious manner. She sat there for a good five minutes before she was ready to leave and just go home. _'Don't give up so soon- you're a strong person Piper'_ she imagined her brother Kaden saying in her thoughts.

"Hey you made it!" Matt's voice broke through to her, as she looked up to see him standing by her table and smiling at her. "Err.. yeah I guess so," She said, realising her hands were twiddling between each other anxiously, so she pulled her hands off the table and sat on them instead. "The others are over there in the booth, so why don't you come with me and say hi to them? They've missed you." Matt told her, holding out a hand to her signalling for her to trust him. He could see she was anxious, and he didn't feel phased by it or feel surprised. She had spent so long locked in a building and not socialising to the point she was scared of seeing her friends. He wasn't expecting her to be the same old Piper Farron they had known and loved. He just wanted her to trust her friends would look after her and not shy away from her. Gulping Piper took his hand and stood up from the table, grabbing her bag with her other hand and followed Matt to the booth where sat Bonnie Bennett and Tyler Lockwood.

"Look who I found back in town today!" Matt chimed, edging Piper out from behind him, not letting her hide behind him. Tyler was the first to look up from chatting with Bonnie about the current problems in the town. At first, he couldn't help but get a tad annoyed for being interrupted by Matt. What was he thinking bringing someone innocent over and possibly overhear what they were talking about? Tyler could really punch Matt in the arm sometimes at his poor timing. Yet, when he saw the shy girl trying to hide behind Matt, he found he knew that face from anywhere. "Piper?" He questioned looking at her, finding it strange that se was being so shy, but then seconds later the realisation of why she was being so different dawned on him. He felt like face planting the table after wards for his brain taking so long to put two and two together.

"Damn girl, it's been a long time!" Bonnie chimed in, deciding that she would dig Tyler out of the metaphorical hole he had well and truly dug himself in. "Hey, yeah… sorry for that" Piper replied, feeling like it was now time to apologise for her rudeness over this last year and a half. She had honestly felt like a terrible friend and felt like she didn't deserve the kindness they were showing her so far. She had treated them so badly by ignoring them and refusing to see them, but now she had a chance to make up for that. She saw Bonnie scoot over in the booth and pat the sofa beside her, signalling for her old friend to sit down beside her.

Piper hesitated at first, but she gulped down that hesitation and moved forward, sitting down in the booth next to her old friend. "So… how comes you refused our visits?" Tyler asked, digging himself further into the hole than needed, but the truth was he had been dying to ask that question for this entire time. He couldn't understand why she accept her mother's visits but not her closest friends. They were so willing to visit her and try and help her by giving her distractions of happiness and gossip with her about the happenings in Mystic Falls, but she turned them down every time. "It wasn't like that Tyler…" Piper said, still being quiet and edgy around him. He seemed different to her, more unstable and intimidating. This scared her, but she had to attempt to not let that show. "Dude! Not cool!" Matt chimed in, lifting one arm and placing a comforting hand onto Piper's shoulder.

"What? I'm just curious that's all!" Tyler spoke back to Matt. "Matt it's fine… he has a right to ask," Piper spoke up, looking between the two boys in front of her, and with a 'see!?' gesture from Tyler by lifting his hands up defensively and pointing towards Piper, she felt like she could continue. "Thing is, I was in a really bad place Tyler, I didn't want you seeing me that way. I was scared of seeing anyone- even mom. But she insisted on chaining herself to the doors if I didn't accept her visits. So I had no choice but to see her… and she brought me clothes. Thing is, I was under heavy medication and therapy. I was anxious about everything around me, I was manic depressive." Piper began explaining her real issues finally.

"I sat in a room mostly reading just to distract my mind, because every time I wasn't reading I was thinking about Kaden. I was thinking about how he wasn't…isn't there to be my friend or brothers anymore. I was dwelling on his memory that it was causing to spiral so far down I couldn't think straight. I didn't want any of you seeing me in that state." She finished explaining, until she finished talking she hadn't even realised that Bonnie by this point had put one arm around her and pulled her into her. Not only was Piper on the brink of tears, but so was Bonnie. Even Matt was finding it difficult to hear. Every part of who Piper Farron used to be, had disappeared and it was only now that her group of friends could really begin to understand why she didn't want them around. Piper did leave out one vital thing though, how much she couldn't see their random appearances would help her get better. That was one thing that can left to her journals and mind.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, you're out of there now and that's a huge step forward. I mean it's not like they'd let you out if they didn't think you'd have made a huge step in the right direction right?" Bonnie chimed in, wiping her eyes and making her tone of voice try to sound positive. With a rub of her thumb on Piper's shoulder, she let Piper sit up right and look at everyone with her head held high. "Bonnie's right, we've all had our issues over this last year and a half and you especially, but you're here now and that's all that should be thought about. So how about I go get you that drink?" Matt spoke up, agreeing with Bonnie and trying to change the subject. Piper just nodded and made a small smile appear on her lips, which he took as a signal to go on ahead getting her a drink on the house.

"So, Matt said y'all had your own issues to deal with?" Piper asked, bringing up the subject of 'issues' again, but she felt like she wanted to hear about them rather talk about herself. "Yeah, but it's not anything we can't handle. Mostly Caroline being her usual "all parties have to be perfect!" dramatic self haha!" Bonnie was the first to chime in, the last thing Piper needed was to hear about vampires and witches being in town and their entire world being turned upside down. Piper looked between Bonnie and Tyler and she could tell from Tyler's facial expressions that they were hiding something, but she couldn't understand why.

"How is Elena? My mom told me on one of her visits, her parents died? How awful," Piper decided to question how Elena Gilbert wasn't around, she spoke to the Gilbert girl a few times because of her having Bonnie has a mutual friend, but she wasn't exactly the closest of friends with Elena. They always got on with each other, and were pleasant towards one another, but for some reason they never became close like Bonnie was with Elena. It used to not phase her, and if she really thought about it- it probably still wouldn't phase her. This however didn't stop Piper worrying over her as a friend. After all, if anyone would understand what it was like to lose a family member to death, it would be Piper. "She's coping, she spent most of last summer inside writing in her journal or being at the cemetery by her folks headstones." Bonnie replied to her politely, but she did wish Piper wouldn't bring up so many depressing topics of conversation.

"Understandable, but she's doing okay now right?" Piper questioned, "Yeah she's doing good, she's got a new boyfriend. He's called Stefan Salvatore, he's new in town and living with his Uncle and brother Damon." Tyler decided to be the next one to chime in now, so he didn't begin to feel like the third wheel in this little group. "He's a good guy, he's making Elena happy so that's all we're asking for. Though Ty here for a while felt threatened by him, Stefan is an amazing football player." Bonnie added with a smile on her face, poking fun at Tyler's old irrational angst towards the younger Salvatore brother. Well, younger in human terms- older in vampire terms. "Hey that is so not true! I was just testing him out- see how far we could push him!" Tyler protested in defence, which just made Bonnie and Piper laugh at his expense.

"Okay you two- stop tormenting Tyler, not his fault he had competition with Stefan and the game," Matt told them with a smile on his face, having now made it back to the booth with drinks for everyone, placing them down on the table as he spoke. "Anyway it doesn't mater now, Stefan isn't on the team- he quit." Tyler then finished the conversation with. "So in truth a lot has happened has here other than the usual Caroline fussing about parties huh?" Piper spoke out in a tongue of cheek manner. "Could say that, but I'm sure you can catch up on it all as you find your place back in town. The moment Caroline finds you here again- she's bound to brag about anything and everything anyway," Matt replied to her, as he flipped the drinks tray down and under his arm, using his arm and side to keep the tray under his arm. "So Piper- you happy to be back in Mystic Falls?" Tyler asked her, wanting to give Piper some of the limelight for a moment more. Piper hummed and nodded in response to Tyler's question, as she wrapped her hands around the glass that had diet coke inside.

"Yeah, it's good to see the town again and feel the fresh air without having to worry about going back inside again after like half an hour, but it's weird at the same time. When I was let out earlier, I found myself standing by the entrance gate in front of the cab thinking 'am I really ready?' because I was convinced it was a joke. Yet now I'm here I'm glad to be out and ready to start living again. I know I shut you guys out when I was in there, but I'm ready to mingle again and be a friend again," Piper explained, wondering if any of what she said even made sense. It may have made sense to the gang, but to her- she wasn't too sure. She was still anxious about the outside world. She wanted nothing more than to find out who or what killed her brother Kaden. She wanted to be able to move on, but if she focussed on her brother, could she really move on?

"Well we're ready to have you as a friend again, well you were never not a friend to us Piper and although we can't really understand what you must have gone through in there this year and a half, we wanna be there for you still and we stand by that. Most of all we stand by you, so if you feel anxious or like you need to leave anywhere at any time, we'll help you. We've helped Elena, and we're gonna help you." Matt reassured her, giving her shoulder a squeeze before hearing a shout out from the bar, to get back to work. Seeing Matt leave the booth, Bonnie nodded and looked at Piper, "Matt is right- we're gonna be there for you and make sure you're not alone when you need someone okay?" she told her friend, and with that, Piper felt reassured that leaving the hospital was indeed the right choice to accept and do.

One hour later

Once drinks and food was over and done with, Piper saw the time and decided it was time to leave. Though she didn't have any food herself because her mother made her eat before she left, she did stay to hang out with her friends. Though by this point, she figured her mom would be going crazy inside, wondering where and how she was, so she decided it was time to say her farewells and leave The Grill. Walking outside and down the road, she found herself wondering if she really wanted to go home. "Sandra will only fuss over me.." she thought to herself about her mother. She didn't like the idea of going home and being fussed over, but she didn't like the idea of being utterly alone either.

True, she spent nearly her entire time on her own back in the hospital, but she always had a regular nurse to check up on her and make sure she didn't go into a random anxiety attack whilst on her own. Every now and then she did socialise, but her books were much more entertaining. So with remembering how much better she coped in hospital with a partial eye kept on her, she decided being at home was probably the best idea. She began walking home again, as being out in the fresh air was considered a luxury for Piper, and it was nice to see what had changed and what had stayed the same in Mystic Falls. Strolling down the street, she found herself looking in the windows of the nice clothes- the kinds of clothes she used to be happy wearing, and all the other independent stores. She looked around her at everyone looking happy. She wondered how she would cope, going back to school and socialising like these bystanders and general public. School, the crowded hallways, the filled rooms of good and bad students, Caroline nagging everyone about something or the other, and everything else that went with the word 'school'. Before she totally realised it, she was stood still breathing heavy, her breath was short and rapid, her chest began to get tight and felt she was having an heart attack. Her vision was blurring, and she was grabbing at her cardigan, scrambling for air in her lungs.

"Hey hey... you okay?" A voice was speaking to her, but she couldn't calm down enough to properly acknowledge whom was talking to her. "I cant… breathe…. help me… I... can't... breathe!" Piper gasped out, becoming panic stricken, scared for her life. "Take a deep breath, it's okay you're going to be fine, come with me over to the bench- just keep taking deep breaths, okay? Like this," the young male voice spoke to her, before taking deep breaths as an example to try and calm her down. He walked her over to the nearby bench and sat her down, continuing his deep breath examples to try and make her slow her breathing down. Piper soon acknowledged he was helping her, and after quite a few attempts, she managed to shakily slow her breathing down to long deep breaths. "T-thank you…" She shyly spoke, still not knowing who this mysterious person was who helped her, that is until she looked up and saw it was none other than Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's younger brother.


	3. Chapter 3

"It's no problem, here take a sip of this," Jeremy smiled at her, as he took out a bottle of water from his backpack and handed it to her, unscrewing the lid as he did so. Piper took the bottle and took a small sip from it, feeling the cool liquid run down her throat and helping her to control her breathing. "I'm so embarrassed..." She admitted to him, putting the lid firmly back on the bottle and just holding it between her fingers. "Hey no need to be embarrassed, you're lucky it was me who came across you having that panic-attack though. I knew what to do to be able to help you out-Piper." Jeremy reassured her, trying to look at Piper square in the eye, but was having trouble due to Piper having tilted her head down in embarrassment. Yet when he used her name in his reply, this caused her to look up at him in surprise.

"You recognise me?" She questioned, looking at him puzzled. Sure she knew Elena, but she hadn't really been around enough times for Jeremy to know her as one of Elena's friends. Or, so she figured anyway. "Of course I do, you're Bonnie's friend and thus a friend of Elena's. I've seen you around in the past, but not for a long time." Jeremy explained to her, shooting her a friendly smile. Piper nodded trying to figure out what to say in reply to Jeremy's words. "I've been away for the last year and a half, that's why no one has seen me around." Piper replied, deciding not to go into everything yet again. Especially so soon after she just explained everything to Bonnie, Tyler and Matt. "You don't have to go into it – I heard it was something to do with Kaden's death?" Jeremy questioned her, not expecting her to answer, but was just curious if that was indeed the case. Piper just nodded her response instead of giving a worded answer. She had learned to be able to hear her brother's name be mentioned and not break down, but that didn't mean it was still extremely hard to hear.

She had a long way to go she felt, and was beginning to ponder again if she was truly ready to be back in Mystic Falls. "Like I said, you don't have to talk about it. I know what's it like to have to live with a family death. Both my folks died since you've been gone. In a car crash, the car went off the bridge and they drowned. Elena almost didn't make it but she survived. So I get it, not having the people around who you always used to be so close to. Family death takes it toll on our minds." Jeremy told her openly, it had been a year and a half after all, and he wanted her to know that she wasn't alone. "I'm sorry Jeremy, I couldn't imagine losing parents" Piper told him back, her tone showed genuine sympathy and empathy for him.

She looked up at the giant clock in the middle of the town, just behind where they were sitting and saw what the time was. "Crap, my mom is going to kill me. I have to go. Thank you for the drink," She complained and thanked him, handing him back the bottle of water, only to find he pushed it back to her and told her to keep it. "You want me to walk you back? You know, in case you have another attack on the way back? I'd only worry otherwise," Jeremy offered, his tone of voice showed genuine concern for her going home alone. If she hadn't even made it directly out town before going into a panic attack, then the possibility of her going into a second one on the way home alone was pretty high. He remembered this from when Elena used to have the odd break down directly after their parents deaths. That was before Elena got onto medication to cope with the loss. Piper gave it a thought, and decided it was probably a good idea to not go home alone, so she took up Jeremy's offer, got up off the bench and lead the way to her house with Jeremy in tow.

The walk took a total of around twenty minutes to get from the town to her home and Piper wasn't even aware of that time going by, as Jeremy and she had been talking the entire time. Jeremy took all her worries away from her mind, which in turn kept her calm enough to make it home safe and sound. When her front lawn cropped up into view, and they soon found themselves standing outside the front gate, Piper stopped and turned to Jeremy giving him a small smile. "Thank you for walking me back and helping me out earlier. I really appreciate it Jeremy," Piper thanked him, and he smiled back and gave her a hug. "Any time, look you know how to get in contact with me, so if you ever need someone to talk to who will understand where you're coming from? Give me a shout, you can never have too many friends in this place." He replied back to her, giving her a light squeeze before letting her go, and waving her goodbye. He headed back into town, and left Piper to go into her home alone.

Piper opened her front door and walked inside to find her mother Sandra was standing in the hallway with her hands on her hips. "I've been worried, and was that Jeremy Gilbert who was with you outside?" Sandra greeted her daughter. "Sorry, I lost track of time and yes it was. He just walked me back that's all and offered friendship for me, as he gets what I'm going through." Piper answered calmly. This put Sandra at ease, as her hands dropped from her hips and down to her sides. "Well, I'm glad you weren't alone, at least Jeremy is turning out to be a decent kid now he's off the drugs." Sandra commented, walking up to Piper and hugging her, kissing the top of her head, before walking her into the living room. Piper wondered what Sandra was getting at by the comment about Jeremy previously being on drugs, but she decided it was best not to pry, so she ignored it instead. "So, did you meet up the old gang again at The Grill?" Sandra asked her, sitting down on one of the sofas they had in their house.

"Yeah I did, Matt gave me a drink on the house and we just chatted. It was good to see them again and catch up on stuff I've missed out on." Piper responded as she too sat down on the other sofa. What she wasn't expecting was her mother to almost choke on her own saliva from her answer. "Mom?" She questioned, her left eyebrow rising in question. "Its nothing sweetheart, what did they tell you you've missed out on?" Sandra asked her back, collecting herself and manner. "Oh just Caroline being the usual nag at school over parties and such, and about Elena's parents." Piper replied simply, after all it was the truth. "Oh I see, yeah it's such a same about the Gilbert family," Sandra said back in reply. Sandra was tempted to ask her if Matt had told her about his sister Vicky, but decided it was best not to bombard her daughter with such horrific news about another death in Mystic Falls.

"Jeremy told me more about it, I really feel for them. I couldn't imagine living without you or Dad. Living without Kaden is hard enough, but without you or Dad, that's just un-comprehendible." Piper told her honestly. Sure, Sandra's nagging and fussing really irritated her sometimes, but just thinking about not having Sandra to nag and fuss over her wasn't bare thinking about. "Oh sweetie, well we're still around, so don't think about it. You've got to be thinking positively from now on. You're out of that hospital and have a future to look forward to." Sandra told her, trying to lighten up the mood and topic of conversation. "Mhm…" Piper muttered, with a simple single nod. "I could do with a cup of coffee, want one?" Sandra finally said after there were a few moments of silence. She had really hoped Piper would have come back with a better response than a sheer mumble or mutter of sound. "Yeah please," Piper replied and with that her mother was back in the kitchen.

Piper got up and put on the TV deciding it was something to do rather than running up and hiding in her room. She was still unnerved slightly by having that panic attack earlier on in town, so she needed another distraction. She did think about admitting that to her mother when she got in, but she needed a break from all the fussing, and anyway- Jeremy did enough of the fussing for both himself and her mother. She relaxed back into the sofa, which seemed so much more comfortable than it ever did before her "vacation". She thought of it as a vacation so she didn't have to think of it in a negative light. If she pretended it was a vacation, then she figured she could see it as a break from the inside world and be able to move on quicker now she was back.

It wasn't long however until the house phone rang, and Piper got up to answer it, "Hello Farron household," Piper answered,

"Piper! Oh my god Bonnie was telling the truth you are home! When can I see you!?" The female shrieking voice excitedly replied down the phone. This meant it could be only one person… Caroline.

"Hey Caroline, umm to be honest I don't know. I haven't long been back today and I'm back at home now. I promised mom I'd stay in with her for a bit. I've already been out in town, so I'm not particularly wanting to go out again. I'm finding this all overwhelming to be honest." Piper politely told her friend back.

"Okay fine, well I need to see you. Bonnie told me you what you were wearing, and girl that is NOT you. So tomorrow morning I'm coming over with Bonnie and we're going shopping." Caroline insisted down the line.

"Caroline I'm not su-" She began to say before her friend cut her off mid sentence.

"I'm not taking no as an answer, tomorrow morning at 11am, I'll pick you up at yours okay?" Caroline spoke again. Piper sighed, this was definitely the Caroline she knew so well. She hadn't changed, or maybe she had but after everything else that Piper has experienced today, it wasn't being noticed just by her voice.

"Fine, 11am tomorrow- look I have to go, mom is calling me." Piper lied, and Caroline accepted her lie and said her byes before hanging up and leaving Piper to it.

"Who was that sweetheart?" Sandra asked, walking through to the phone handing Piper her coffee. "Caroline, it seems Bonnie has announced my arrival to her and now Caroline is insisting on a shopping trip in town tomorrow." Piper explained, and this was responded with a smile from her mother. Which surprised Piper, she was honestly expecting her mother to not allow tomorrow's plans go ahead, but it was allowed. "Good, some girl time will do you some good, and I agree you could do with some new clothes- I'll even give you the money for them." Sandra replied to her, guiding her back to the living room where they spent the next few hours just relaxing.


	4. Chapter 4

Piper spent the time talking with her mother and father (when he joined them) the entire time, which meant Piper could learn about what she had missed during her "vacation". She learnt how the mayor, had died mysteriously earlier on.

She also got told about weird things going on in town, how Mayor Lockwood wasn't the only dead body shown up in town and out of town. Caroline was hospitalised all on the same night and yet, people won't talk about it much. The town has figured if they ignore all of the weird stuff happening, they could pretend it wasn't actually happening at all. Piper was surprised the subject was even brought up, as she figured her folks would assume she'd try and add it up and link it to Kaden's death. Which she mentally did so. When the time came round, and after a treat of take out food and TV, Piper decided it was time for bed. She headed upstairs to her room, tracing her fingers along the staircase banister as she climbed up the stairs. Reaching her room, she paused for a brief moment wondering whether to stay in Kaden's room, like she used to but then she remember the time she used to do precisely that.

_"I don't know what to do with her Richard, she won't come out of Kaden's room. She's moved of all her belongings in there now. It's getting out of hand," Sandra spoke with worry and concern for her daughter. Piper refused to stay in her own room, as she didn't feel close to Kaden anymore. She HAD to be close to him, and the only way that seemed even remotely possible, was to use his room as her own. She sits on his bed, and writes in her journal, as yet more tears fall down her cheek. It has been three months since Kaden's death and she wasn't moving on. She felt if she moved on- she would forget about her brother and that would mean letting go. She wasn't ready for that. _

_"There isn't much we can do Sandra, this is just her coping mechanism, and though I don't agree with her being in his room, we can't just drag her out of there. She needs to mourn in her own time, and it's only been three months. None of us have truly moved on yet, so how can we truly expect her to?" Richard replied to his wife, and though he too was concerned for his daughter's coping tactics, he knew what he stated was the truth. Whilst Piper finished off her journal entry, she looked around the room and she could remember so vividly the times her and Kaden would compete with each other in this very room. It was all jokes and fake fighting, but they were fond memories. She could still picture Kaden play wrestling with her, when she just wanted to borrow something form his room, but he would make her play fight him to earn said item as her trophy. She was with the popular crowd sure, but she still enjoyed the tomboy geeky antics with her brother at home. Shuffling off his bed, she walked round to the window and stared outside, watching the sun rays beat down on the green grass that made up the front lawn. She remembered the time she would watch Kaden and their dad play with a ball outside, and just smile at how typical their father and son relationship was. _

_Stepping away from the window, she traced her fingers all along his chest of drawers, as she kept thinking back to the happy times of Kaden's life and it brought tears to her eyes. It was long until Piper found herself slumped down onto the floor, leaning against the bedpost and crying. "Kaden, I miss you…"_

Snapping out of her thoughts, Piper shook her head in an attempt to remove those memories of the harder times from her memory. Continuing the short walk that required a matter of five steps, she walked into her own room and closed the door behind her. Walking across to her bag that she had previously placed on the end of her bed, she unzipped it, took out her pyjamas, and changed before ending the overwhelming day she just experienced.

She awoke the next morning to the smell pancakes, which she found extremely appetising. With a yawn escaping her lips, her arms stretching upwards and out, she sat up in bed before swinging her legs across the bed and off onto the floor. Sweeping her duvet cover off of her body, she stood up pulling down her rumpled pyjama tee, and walked into her own personal bathroom. Looking into the mirror, she grabbed her hairbrush and ran it through her hair, to tidy up her "bed head" look, before looking for a hair band and loosely tying up her hair.

Walking out of her bathroom, into her bedroom, she headed into the hallway and down the stairs, where she made her way to the kitchen to indeed find pancakes freshly made on the dining worktop with her mom's homemade strawberry compote. "Mmm… I've forgotten how good your homemade compote and pancakes smell mom," Piper chimed with a smile, sitting down on the stool and picking up a fork. Sandra just smiled at Piper in response to the compliment on her cooking. Sandra for a moment could have sworn she saw a glimpse of the daughter she used to know shine through Piper's eyes. "What time is Caroline picking you up this morning?" Sandra asked Piper, and it caused Piper to have to stop and think for a second. The she remembered, "11am, she insisted on a early start, but I managed to change her mind. If she had it her way, I'd already be out of the door and at the mall," Piper replied, trying to make a joke out of it.

Though all truth be told, it wasn't much of a joke, and more of a fact. Caroline and malls just went hand in hand from what she could remember. She had no idea things had changed. After all that said and done, the Farron family just sat in the kitchen and ate in silence, whilst Piper took the odd glance at the clock. She didn't let it show, but she was actually scared of heading as far out as the Mall so soon after coming home to Mystic Falls. She wondered if there was a way to cancel the whole thing, but then it would show everyone- especially her folks that she wasn't ready to socialise, which would make Sandra just lock her up in the house and fuss over her. She wasn't ready for that either.

It wasn't long before Piper was dressed, the clock chime 11am and right on cue, Caroline and Bonnie were knocking on the door calling out for her to be ready. Grabbing her bag, giving her mom and dad a kiss on the cheek, she headed to the front door, and took in a grasp of breath. "You can do this Piper…" She whispered to herself, before opening the door to find Caroline just fling herself at her and be hugged tightly. "Nice to see you too Care" Piper told her, looking up at Bonnie whom was behind Caroline, giving her an apologetic look for Caroline's behaviour.

"Oh my god Piper! It's been so long!" Caroline just chimed, reluctantly letting go, and taking in Piper's attire for their trip to the mall. "Yup... definitely gotta get you some new threads!" Caroline stated matter of factly, looking Piper up and down. "Caroline, stop judging the poor girl and lets go already," Bonnie spoke up, wrapping her arm around Piper's shoulders. Bonnie felt the need to protect Piper, but without smothering her. Bonnie knew exactly what Piper had gone through, and probably still is going through, so it was only fair she looked out for her old friend. "Bumped into Elena last night, she said Jeremy walked you home last night after having a panic attack- you okay?" Bonnie whispered to Piper, whilst Caroline took the lead down the front lawn to the car.

Piper just nodded, briefly closing her eyes, not really wanting to remember yesterday's attack. "I'll be fine," Piper whispered back to Bonnie, trying to convince herself that she'll be fine, as well as Bonnie. Once they all got into the car, Caroline drove them all to the Mall, where they had music playing, windows down, making it feel like a true girl's day out. Piper stared out the window several times, watching the world whizz by in a blur, and it reminded her of yesterday's taxi drive home from the hospital. The freedom she felt, seeing the world just fly by in a blink of an eye. Though this time, it reminded her of the year and a half that went by in that same blink of an eye, whilst she was trapped in an endless same old cycle inside.

Briefly closing her eyes, Piper thought about the girls that were still inside, and going through that cycle of sleep, pills, food, tv, and repeat. The only thing ever changed was if they as patients got the chance to go outside into the gardens and enjoy the fresh air. Except Piper barely did that, as she preferred the comfort of her room and a book from the hospital's library. _"Hey Piper, going to come outside and enjoy the sunshine today? It'll do you some good" her nurse asked her several days, "No… I wanna finish this book," Piper replied, without lifting her gaze up from the pages of The Stories of the Grimm Brothers' book. _

"Hey Piper, you okay in the back there?" Bonnie asked her, bringing her out of her thoughts and causing her to open her eyes. She saw Bonnie, leaning round the back of her front passenger seat and giving her a concerned look. "Yeah you've been well quiet!" Caroline chimed in, without taking her eyes off the road. "Oh, I'm fine… just thinking and remembering" Piper responded, looking Bonnie in the eyes back.


End file.
